System and means for transporting ships



Sept. 5, 1944. s. BASILE SYSTEM AND MEANS FOR 'I'RANSPORTING SHIPS 3Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 11, 1942 I W r n 3% an m m d H v d E 4 .I S ia H 2:2: u EEK m @Efifi a x a M n Sept 5, 1944. s. BASILE SYSTEM ANDMEANS FOR TRANSPORTING SHIPS Filed June 11, 1942 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Bl eF- Q nib a 5 HH HIIII 011 Q mnwm muulnm uuw -l hm hm ,S'alva iore.Baszile Sept; 5, 19445. s. BASIL: I 4 2,357,494

SYSTEM AND MEANS FOR TRANSPOR'I'ING SHIPS Filed June 11, 1942 aShets-Sheet 5 0 Q j a l & I I.

Sal vaiore Basile Patented Sept. 5, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE2,357,494 SYSTEM AND MEANS FOR TRANSPORTING SHIPS Salvatore Basile,Bloomfield, Conn.

Application June 11, 1942, Serial No. 446,659

1 Claim.

- provision of means for supporting and removing a ship from one body ofwater and transporting it to another body of water under self containeddriving mechanism.

A further object of this invention resides in the provision of means forremoving a ship from the water and directing it from the main track to aswitch track. v

A still further object of this invention resides in the particularconstruction of the ship receiving canal,

Aside from the aforesaid objects this invention resides in theparticular association and construction of the main and switch tracks ofthe transportation systems for the ship cradle.

In addition to the objects heretofore mentioned, this invention residesin the particular construction of the ship cradle.

One of the salient features of this invention resides in the provisionof means for supporting a ship in the cradle.

With these and other objects in view this invention resides in certainnovel features of construction and arrangement of elements to behereinafter more particularly set forth in the specification,illustrated in the accompanying drawings and pointed out in the appendedclaim and, while this disclosure depicts my present conception of theinvention, the right is reserved to resort to such departures therefromas come within the spirit of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this application:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the ship receiving canal showing the main andswitch tracks associated therewith.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view approximately on line 9-9 of Fig. 1 showingthe switch track.

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view taken approximately on line 33 of Fig.1 through the ship canal and showing the cradle therein supporting a.ship.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged side view of the cradle showing a ship supportedtherein.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the cradle disposed in the canal whichhas a portion of its near wall broken away for clarity.

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic plan view of the ship cradle driving mechanism.

Fig. '7 is a sectional view through one of the electrically operatedgates of the cradle.

Fig. 8 is a cross sectional view through the cradle showing thepassageway therethrough.

Fig. 9 is a detail sectional view through one of the ship bracing jacks.

Fig. 10 is a side view of the canal gate.

Fig. 11 is an end view of a canal gate mounted on the supporting tracktherefor.

In the present illustration of this invention the letter B designatesrailroad tracks extending into a concrete canal I 2 preferably having agrade of one percent slope into the water and closed by gates I3slidably disposed on tracks I4. However, it is Within the purview ofthis invention to employ other suitable types of gates wherein the outeror stream end of the canal can be closed to permit pumping watertherefrom.

Disposed landwardly of the canal adjacent thereto or at selected pointson the main track are movable switch tracks A driven by suitable selfcontained pow-er transmitting means, herein shown as consisting ofmotors I connected to suitable reduction gears 2 mounted on I-beams 3which in turn support other I-beams 4 on which is rigidly secured steelrails 6 adapted to carry the weight of a ship cradle l6, forming a partof this invention, and a ship 29 supported therein, said ship cradle isdriven by suitable power plants, capable of propelling the same, housedin water tight compartments IT at the four corners of the cradle.Connecting the aforesaid compartments are water tight passages l8 havingwater tight windows 25 while leading from said passages are windingstairs l9 which permit entrance into outwardly extending observation orcontrol cabins 20 disposed at the top of each corner of the cradle.

The cradle is supported on a plurality of strong railroad trucks 28, thewheels of certain of which are connected to the power plants by any wellknown driving mechanism, the same preferably driving wheels on the foursides of the cradle however, the driving mechanism may be disposed aboutthe cradle at any points thereof found to best meet the demands of theinvention.

Disposed at the opposite ends of the cradle are suitable sliding doors2|, the same preferably being of arcuate configuration and adapted tooperate on tracks 22 carried by the cradle so as to telescope within theend walls of the cradle when open.

Formed in the outer side walls of the cradle and communicating with thepower plant compartments are suitable water tight doors 24 wherebyentrance of the crew is permitted.

Secured to the opposed inner walls of the cradle is a plurality oftelescoping ship props 26 preferably of the hydraulic type and providedwith cushion heads adapted to bear against the sides of a ship withoutdamaging the paint thereon.

The cradle is constructed of beams, girdles and trusses 21 of anyapproved construction whereby the bottom of the cradle will be of opentype without sacrificing rigidity and strength of the same, the salientfeature of said construction being that the cradle will take in waterfrom the bottom when conveyed into the canal to float a ship therein forproper bracing between the cradle walls and discharge the water as it ispropelled landward. The switch tracks A preferably operate across thetracks B at right angles so as to align therewith to permit the cradlethereon containing a ship to be shifted to either side of the tracks Aand in order to automatically stop the switch track A in alignment withthe track B, suitable stop means indicated by the numeral 9 areprovided.

In order to prevent the cradle from leaving can rapidly be transportedfrom one body of water to another with little trouble and small expenseand, through the simplicity of construction of the associated units, thesystem can be built at a reasonable price.

Having thus described my invention what I claim and desire to protect byLetters Patent is:

A ship transporting cradle comprising concrete side walls havinglongitudinally extending passages therein, windows in the outer sidewalls of the passages, doors in the outer side walls of the passages;front and rear concrete decks formed integral with the side walls andhaving their inner ends terminating inwardly of the ends of the sidewalls to provide an open bottom between the side walls, spaced beamsconnecting the side walls within the open bottom therebetween andslanting downwardly therefrom to l a longitudinal line passing throughthe cradle the main track at its outer or stream end, wheel to form asubstantially V-shape open bottom, laterally extending passagesextending through the end decks and communicating with those passages inthe side Walls, control cabins extending outwardly from the corners ofthe side walls and having passages leading into those passages of theside walls, sliding gates mounted on the decks with their inner enddisposed in slots within the ends of the side walls, wheeled truckssupporting the cradle, and power transmitting means carried by thecradle and connected to certain of the wheeled trucks.

SALVATORE BASILE.

